Resources for Kinship Foster Caregivers

If you are an adult relative or person who has a significant relationship with a child who the Department of Child Safety (DCS) has placed in your home, you are a kinship foster caregiver. DCS offers services and supports to help you care for the children placed in your home.

A Message for Kinship Foster Caregivers:

It is never easy to take on the added responsibility of raising someone else’s child. Grandparents, relatives or a caring person with an attachment to the child will step up, out of love, and make the commitment.

However, with that commitment come higher grocery and utility costs, added stressors, less free time. It is also stressful working with DCS and trying to understand the often confusing forms and rules.

DCS appreciates your commitment and wants to ensure you are aware of the resources and information available to provide strong support to the placement of the child(ren).

Have your utility and food bills gone up since you became a kinship foster caregiver?

Attend a Kinship Information Session in your area to learn about assistance and support you can receive. To find the dates, times, and location, please call (520) 323-4476

Talk with your DCS Specialist to ensure you will be receiving the child’s personal and clothing allowances monthly. A CHILDS Billing Statement will be sent monthly that you must complete and return.

Apply for the TANF Cash Assistance (Child Only) and the Kinship Stipend (income limits apply) with the assistance of the DCS.

Consider becoming a licensed foster parent.

Have you been feeling anger, sadness, regret, or disappointment because the DCS had to get involved in your family?

There are over 4,600 other kinship foster caregivers in Arizona just like you. It will really help you to get in touch with them at a kinship support group. It is life-changing to meet people who are going through exactly what you are going through. To get information about times, dates, and locations of these support groups call:

When a child is placed in your home by the Division of Child Safety, your food and other expenses will increase. It is possible that the child placed with you will be eligible for Cash Assistance monthly benefits through the Family Assistance Administration (FAA). This is money you can use to help pay for food and other expenses of having the child in your home. The benefit is approximately $164 per month for the first child and increases somewhat with each additional child who is placed with you (approximately $220 per month for 2 children, approximately $278 per month for 3 children, approximately $335 per month for 4 children, etc.). It is your responsibility to apply for these benefits by filling out the application and then give the application to the DCSS or a designated worker.

To apply for Cash Assistance, you must complete the forms "Application for Benefits" (FA-001) and "TANF/CA Contact Form" (FAA-1091AFORNA). You can get those forms at any FAA office, from your DCS Specialist, mailed/emailed to you by the Kinship Specialist reached at 602-255-2628 or on the internet at des.az.gov/documents-center. People with DCS open cases should NOT apply for Child-Only Cash Assistance TANF on line.

Only apply for Cash Assistance on the FA-001 (not medical or nutrition assistance) just for the children placed with you by DCS. You are Person 1 on page 3 and must complete the "Personal Information." Answer all question areas with a "$" over it. Person 2 is another person in your household (you must record ALL persons living in your home). Under "Personal Information" for the DCS-placed children, show they are "Grandchild" or "Niece/nephew" as appropriate and also in that area there is "Other;" check that box also and write "unlicensed foster care." Request cash assistance for the placed children ONLY, not for any other children.

Give the completed forms to your DCS Specialist who will complete the submission process.DO NOT give the forms to FAA yourself. After you have given the completed forms to the DCS Specialist and the DCS Specialist has emailed the forms to FAA, FAA will contact you within 5 days to schedule an interview which can be either in person or on the telephone. It is important to keep all appointments with FAA. If you miss a scheduled appointment, you must call to re-schedule it the same day you missed the appointment. If you do not, your application will be denied and you will have to re-apply (this means filling out both forms again and giving them to your DCS Specialist again).

After the interview, FAA sends you an approval notice, a denial notice, or a request for further information.

If you have any questions about completing the forms or want to check the status of your application, call FAA's customer service line at 1-855-432-7587 during business hours.

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT CENTER

Relatives as parents/caregivers support group
Services in English and Spanish/child care provided
Information and referral
Assistance/advocacy with child-serving agencies
Youth development and support services
State-wide support line
Parent empowerment, education, skills and training

Kin often tell DCS to send all the children to them, that you will "find a way" to make it work. You need and deserve financial assistance for the children who are placed with you. Below is a listing of potential sources of financial assistance.

Personal and Clothing Allowance also known as Daily Allowance:

This is a check sent to you monthly for each child placed with you through DCS. The amount you get is based upon the age of the child (0-12 months is $78.90 per month, 1-2 years is $44.40, 3-5 is $18.90, 6-11 is $33.60, 12 and up is $52.80). You will get a "CHILDS billing statement" in the mail. You must verify the dates the child was in your home, sign and date it, and using your own envelope and postage, mail back the white copy to Payment Processing and keep the yellow copy for yourself. Many kinship foster caregivers receive the CHILDS billing statement in the mail and do not understand that they must complete and return it. The DCS Specialist enters the service authorization to start the monthly payments. If a child was placed with you January 2, you should get the first CHILDS billing statement during the second week of February. The sooner you return the billing statement correctly completed to DCS Payment Processing, the sooner you will get the actual check in the mail. If you do not get a CHILDS billing statement in the mail within six weeks of when the children were placed, please let your DCS Specialist know. This is the only ongoing financial assistance for all kinship foster caregivers that is initiated by the agency and goes to everyone.

TANF Cash Assistance:

This is the main source of financial assistance for unlicensed relatives or unlicensed non-relatives. Do not go to a Family Assistance Administration office to submit the paperwork. You should apply for this benefit for each child placed in your home by DCS by completing the two forms (FA-001 and FAA-1091) and giving them to the DCS Specialist who will scan them and email them to a special place at the Family Assistance Administration (FAA). Prompted by the email, FAA will schedule a telephone interview with you. An eligibility determination will be made for each child. A letter will be sent to you saying that each child is approved for or denied benefits. You will receive $164 per month for one approved child, $220 for two children, $278 for three children, $335 for four children, $392 for five children, $449 for six children, $506 for seven children. Benefits are paid through an EBT card which is "loaded" each month. Specific guidance has been written for what you do in order to apply for Cash Assistance and specifically what the DCS case managers does in the process also. Payment will not be made in arrears, so the date the application is received by FAA is the date benefits start from for approved applications. Therefore it is important that you apply for Cash Assistance when the children are placed. Once a child is approved for benefits, then you participate in a simple re-determination process every six months. Do not to assume that all the placed children will be approved for Cash Assistance. Some children will be denied benefits.

Kinship Stipend Program:

This program is available to all kinship families who have children placed with them by DCS. The benefit is $75 per month per child. You apply for this program by completing the form CSO-1266A "Kinship Stipend Eligibility." There is an income requirement which is 200% of the 2013 Federal Poverty Guideline. This program is funded on a yearly basis based upon legislative appropriation; check with your DCS Specialist to make sure the program is currently available.

Foster Parent Licensing:

Generally speaking but dependent upon the progress toward reunification, licensing is recommended as the best way to financially support a kinship foster family. You may be ineligible for licensure or you may choose not to pursue getting a foster home license. If you choose to become licensed as a family foster home for specific relative children, you are subject to the same licensing standards as are regular family foster homes, but certain non-safety standards may be waived for kin in order to promote kin licensure. Licensing requires paperwork, an in-depth home study, 30 hours of training, a class 1 fingerprint clearance card, a physical examination, and a home inspection. Some requirements will also involve other adult household members. Licensed foster parents receive approximately $600 per month per child in foster care maintenance payments.